WHAT a year it’s been for Leigh’s British paralympic gold medallist Heather Frederiksen.

Leigh’s 24-years-old top swimmer has been struggling with asthma problems.

The 100m backstroke world record holder missed the holiday weekend’s BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester because she is still trying to get her medication right.

Heather was totally devastated earlier this month when she was handed a backdated six-month ban and stripped of two medals after failing a drugs test - and horrified by the resulting publicity.

She had tested positive for raised levels of Salbutamol at the IPC European Championships in Reykjavik, where she won four gold medals, a silver and a bronze.

Sadly what people, who might wish to a brand her a drugs cheat don’t know, is that she had permission to take the drug for her condition - but the concentration of the drug in her bloodstream at the time of testing was ruled to be too high to be medically justified.

That was because she was in the middle of an attack when the testers arrived and the use of her inhaler had tipped her over the limit.

Heather has suffered from asthma since she was a little girl but it has become more of a problem recently.

Once her medication levels have been sorted out with doctors and her coach she will be back to full training and preparing to take London 2012 by storm.

Not many of us get through life without problems as battling Heather knows as much as anyone, but this is one hitch she could well have done without.

She’ll come back all the stronger for it.